September, 1997

Accident Report
Well, last night it happened. I was on my way home from work, on a Massachusetts back road. Yes, Massachusetts has some of the worst intersections in the nation, and this is one of them. Its not really that bad if you are coherent, and not brain dead. However, as I was approaching this intersection, a car traveling in the opposite direction decided that it would make a left hand turn. The car in front of HER made the turn safe and slowly. She sort of slowed or stopped, I know she saw me. Later on she admitted that to the cops also. Then she started to turn, just as I was near her front end. I was traveling about 20 to 25 mph, and she was travelling about 10 or so, when her front left quarter panel came in contact with the bike. I was thinking 'WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?!!???' The whole side of the bike was sheared, and I was sent flying in the air for about 30 feet, to land on a rock wall. Boy I am glad I had on full leathers with Alpinstar boots. I felt the helmet bang against the rocks, as well as the rest of my body. Most of the impact was absorbed by the helmet & leathers. Ah, a likely end to the leather-Cordura debate (as if there ever was one for an informed individual)!
As I got up, I saw this 17 year old girl (the driver) crying her eyes out, with her 2 friends trying to comfort her. Now dizziness is a quality I can sometimes respect in a female but don't give them licenses! I was thinking, Ah... don't you guys think you should see if the guy you almost killed is OK? Well, there were quite a few eyewitnesses, and they were quite helpful.
There were the usual ambulances, cops, the whole small town show.
I was surprised, the guy who turned in front of her saw the whole thing in his rear view mirror. And he told the police what he saw. An eyewitness! I did a quick body check, and refused the ambulance ride, proudly showing my leather & body armor. One of the guys who was a witness described it with his quote "Are you sure you don't want an ambulance? You FLEW quite a ways through the air! I thought you were dead!" but I felt there was not enough justification for an ambulance. Clint Eastwood or Charles Bronson wouldn't want one!
The police were even OK about it. One of them said not to worry, that he was writing her a ticket, and that it was all her fault! Wow, being treated fairly by a cop! Will surprises never cease! He also told me that he had a Y-D himself, and we joked about it.
They sent a wrecker, who couldn't load the bike on properly, so he called a flatbed. The flatbed came, and he wanted to lay the bike down on its side! Yeah, right! You go back to your shop and call another company, which he did. In the 30 minutes or so that I was waiting, I decided that I would try to get the thing running. Having no tools except for the stock Honda ones (What happened to my vise grips?) I made the best of it and used the Hondas pliers to shift the thing into neutral. Tried to start it, Vrooom! Good old dependable. Except this time the alternator cover was so cracked up that oil was blowing out from all sides! A guy pulled over on a Y-D and was very nice. I asked him if he had vise grips. Yes! Duct Tape? YES! I started to duct tape up the alternator cover, thinking I could ride it to a friends house & leave it there. The duct tape worked pretty good, too! Very nice & friendly guy. I definitely pointed out to him the fact that he was wearing a T-shirt, jeans, half helmet, and no boots. I added that if I were dressed like that, I would be mush in a hospital about now. He appreciated that, and hopefully now is seriously thinking about investing in some armor. Just then, the flatbed came, and he was quite prepared, so we loaded up the bike & off we went.
Damage report: Myself
Still alive thanks to the full body armor. Bruises and other damage throughout my body. A visit to the doctor (not the emergency room) will tell me more. Major bruises on both arms from my impact wit the rocks. The helmet didn't fare so well, but my head did! I still think helmet laws suck, but I'm glad I always choose to wear one, even at slow speeds. Adrenaline rush. Those of you who have never met me, will not appreciate someone as hyper as myself with a large rush of adrenaline. Not a pretty sight. I felt bad for the cops & EMTs who had to talk to me.
Damage report: Bike
We got the bike up, and inspected it. Ouch. The whole side was mushed in. The drivers side footpeg was sheared off at the bolts. If I wasn't wearing the motorcycle boots, my foot would have been Jell-O. The crash bar was bent into the alternator cover, and the centerstand was 'projectiled' into the exhaust. The front exhaust was hit by the crash bar and almost dimpled closed. The tank was OK, but my once beautiful Pichler fairing--almost toast! The new Malcolmesque drive case cover was part of the causality list. No gear shift, that was sheared off with the footpeg mount. You should see the car! The whole front & 1/4 panel were quite mangled!
Damage Report: Chrome
Well, aside from the crushed alternator cover and centerstand, most of the chromed parts survived. Yes, I HAD a chromed centerstand!
Damage report: Brainless 17 year old bimbo:
She didn't stop crying for the whole hour she was there! Her parents showed up, along with some of her friends. The father was sort of OK, but they all left without so much as an I'm glad you are still alive, or do you need anything, or anything similar.
The bike's in the garage until I find out what her insurance company is going to do about it.
The moral of the story as if you haven't heard it before: Wear your gear! Don't snuff it off! Get both leather (or thick Cordura with armor) pants AND boots! Good boots will protect one of the most neglected and damage prone areas of the body: Your feet! And Gloves! The leather-Kevlar gloves I was wearing helped a lot! The armor turned what could have been a fatal accident into a 'walk' (or limp) away one.

Accident Resolution Section (or, yes, the accident was just the first part)
Background:
The motorcycle was registered in New York, as I was in transition at the time between New Hampshire and New York. Insurance in New York is one of the most expensive in the country, due to New York's corrupt system, 'no-fault', mandatory insurance and greedy insurance companies. I had minimum coverage on the bike as required by law, which does not include comprehensive or collision. The cost of collision or comprehensive, if you could get it and have a perfect record, would be 1/3 the value of the bike per year. Some bargain, huh?
So after the accident, I was on my own. My insurance would cover the blonde bimbo, and damage that I caused to her (if it were my fault), but as for her damage to me, I was on my own. To give credit where credit is due, I did get a hold of a very helpful representative at my insurance company. I will call him Jake for ease of storytelling. He was a fellow rider, and although he couldn't do anything for me, he did give me some very valuable advice on dealing with insurance companies in general.
After the Accident
The day following the accident, I went directly to my family doctor/chiropractor, and he started treating me for mis-aligned joints & stuff. Since my motorcycle insurance company was out of the loop in trying to recoup my losses, I had to deal with the bimbos (her fathers, really) insurance company. They were really good at first with the medical, they said to send the bills directly to them and they would take care of it. So far so good. I dealt with a separate representative concerning the property damage. The property damage not only included the motorcycle, but the leathers, helmet, fairing, etc. I will refer to this representative as 'Slimy.' Slimy informed me that they were committed to returning the motorcycle to the original condition it was in before the accident. I informed her that there were a lot of aftermarket parts and accessories on the motorcycle, a lot of which were damaged somewhat in the accident.
Slimy sent over an independent appraiser. He was very knowledgeable about motorcycles, and he picked out some damage that even I wasn't aware of. I knew right then he was going to recommend that the bike be totaled. It was obvious. The exhaust alone would cost $1000 to replace, and I'll be damned if I'm going to put any piece of junk system on a bike that was perfect at one time.
Discussing this further with Slimy, I told her that I had the feeling that the appraiser was going to total the bike, and I was afraid that they would not be aware of all the work I had done to it. She told me to send all the receipts for the accessories and gear, which I did. I'm so glad I kept good records. I had receipts for everything, and I gave an itemized spreadsheet cross referenced to the receipts. They were separated into two columns, one with the assumption of a totaled bike, the other with the assumption that they would have to fix this one. Around this time, I started getting suspicious, since Slimys tone was changing from very friendly & helpful, to a little aloof.
They came with an initial offer of around $2000!
I felt like saying "Do I look Like I have the word Stupid' tattooed on my forehead?" This was insulting, considering I handed them about $7000 in receipts alone. It was also going to cost money to mount the items that were custom, as well as transfer some of the undamaged items to a new bike that I would purchase. Slimy informed me quite innocently that the 'book' value of the bike was $1700, and that the $2000 was more than generous. I told her that the 'book' value of the bike was $2995 according to the AMA, and I sent them the pages from their price guide. I also sent them current ads, and other information. She played stupid. It was quite the game to them, I realize now. She told me that they would look into it. I still decided to give them the benefit of the doubt, but at that time, I consulted a lawyer. I also talked to Jake, who I mentioned earlier. He predicted every step that this seedy company would take. He was right on the money!
Through A.I.M. I got the number of a local attorney who specializes in motorcycle personal injury. I wasn't considering retaining one at the time, I wanted to be prepared just in case. I talked to him over the phone, and he informed me that I was legally entitled to compensation not only for the doctor bills, but pain & suffering as well. I didn't think at that time I wanted to go in that direction. I just wanted my bike back in the condition it was before the accident, and I didn't want to have to pay for it myself since I didn't wreck it. Logical, huh?
Slimy called me back, and announced that she was extremely pleased with the new offer that they had come up with. I told them that that was good, since I already purchased a replacement bike which was in equivalent shape. (See "The Perfect Magna") It was even in better condition, so I was being nice in saying that I didn't expect the price I paid, but something around the AMA value, plus a little for an almost perfect bike.
Their second offer was $2250!
Boy, they must have been pleased! I told them that I couldn't even buy a stock bike in any decent shape for that kind of money, not including the trashed leathers, chrome, helmet etc.! Slimy said that their only responsibility was to give me the replacement value of the bike! I reminded her of the first conversation we had, in which she said that they would bring the bike to the original condition before the accident. She denied saying that! Some selective memory! Slimy said that she was sorry, but that was the best they could do. I informed her that repairs were started, and that a lot of money was coming out of my pocket, just to replace what I had lost due to her client. She re-informed me that that offer was more than generous, that they went through great pains and did a lot of research in bike values to come up with that number, and, bottom line, that was all I was going to get.
I said that I had consulted a lawyer---- and that's where the conversation ended. Slimy said that she could no longer speak to me, that she would have to speak to my lawyer. I informed her that I didn't have one yet, but he was just advising me for now. It didn't make a difference. She would now only talk to my lawyer. I didn't want to repeat that I didn't have one yet, so I went back and consulted and retained Joe Ritzo, Attorney at Law. Unfortunately, attorneys who deal in personal injury can only make money by personal injury, and not by property damage. However, Joe was perfectly willing to help me not only with the personal injury portion, but would aid in recouping some of my losses, property wise. He informed me that the property damage was completely separate, and that he would get nothing out of that. I believed him, and as it turns out, he was true to his word.

The next few months was a back and forth between myself, the lawyer and the insurance company. The insurance company fought every step of the way to deny me of proper compensation for the property damage. Some highlights:

Pulling Teeth 1: Leathers, Helmet, etc.
I had sent Slimy photos of the damaged leathers (by their request), helmet boots and tankbag, which she originally said was adequate. I told her that the photos did not show the damage well, but they said don't worry about it. They pro rated everything, which was typical in the industry according to Jake. No problem I thought, closed case. No! They said that the damage was obvious in the photos for the helmet and boots, but they couldn't see the damage to the rest of the stuff. If they want to play this stupid game, I can play just as well as they can. I told them that I would mail them the leathers and other damaged goods, or that they could come over and pick them up and inspect them. After a few days they so nicely decided to reimburse me for them. It still cost me a lot more to replace the stuff, but at least their pro-rated reimbursement was something.
Pulling Teeth 2: Salvage Value
Slimy informed me that if I wanted to keep the junked bike, that I would have to buy it back for $500. Jake had previously warned me of this. He said that the insurance company number was $75, and that they would start at $500 to squeeze more money out of me (rip me off, more like it!) Keeping in the back of my mind I told Slimy no way. I told her that a lot of the custom parts were going to come off of the wrecked bike, and going to be put on the new bike. I told her also that after all the parts were removed I was not charging them for (and that's a lot of chrome) that they could come and take the box full of pieces and the frame that was left. I was not, nor was the shop, going to put the wrecked bike back together again after transferring the parts. I told her that if they wanted it, come and get it, just be sure to bring a big box along with my check for $500to put all the leftover parts in. Their number magically changed to $75 (wow, Jakes number!!), which I thought was fair.
Pulling Teeth 3: Motorcycle Value
At one time, Slimy used the quote "But our experts have determined that the value of the bike is $1700. They did an extensive study and they are quite knowledgeable in their field." Yea, right. I don't know where they get their numbers from, but I sent them the ads in the paper and the value in the AMA price guide. They changed their story readily.
Pulling Teeth Number 4: Communication
Once it was understood that I was not going to be ripped off so easily, it went a little more smoothly. The lawyer gave Slimy permission to deal with me directly. I told her about the salvage value and the leathers. She came back with the fact that the lawyer gave her permission to talk about the salvage, not the leathers. So I had to call the lawyer again (who did give full permission) to call slimy to call me with permission to talk about the leathers. This was not the only time this happened. I guess Slimy figured that the harder she made it, the less likely I was to pursue it.
WRONG! The harder she pushed, the harder I pushed back!!

Result (Property Damage):
Joe Ritzo (really his associate) was great. He knew how to play hardball. He went above and beyond, and did a good job stopping insurance company's attempt to take advantage of me. remember, there was nothing in this for Joe. The result was a check for about $7000, which is a far cry from the $2200 that they originally offered to screw me with. This came close to the amount it cost me to buy a replacement V65, and bring it up to the condition (chrome, that is, & accessories & gear) that the bimbized one was in.

Result: Personal Injury (Remember, totally separate from property damage)
I was receiving medical attention the whole time, from September to about January '98. That went really well. I recovered fully, and I sent Joe Ritzo to chew their bones dry. They were a lot more willing with this part of the negotiations. With Joe's help, I settled for a substantial amount.

Conclusions:
1. Insurance Companies are worse than lawyers. They will lie right to your face to save a few dollars.
2. Commerce Insurance Company is the most corrupt insurance company that I have ever dealt with. I recommend that people avoid Commerce Insurance Company at all costs!
3. A.I.M. (Aid to Injured Motorcyclists) is a godsend.
4. The AMA book value for motorcycles is the #1 authority. I don't know where Commerce got their numbers from.
5. If Commerce and Slimy would have given me the replacement value of the motorcycle as originally promised, they would have saved a lot of time and money.
6. New Hampshire, with all its faults, is eons ahead of both NY and MA. What would have taken me days in either state took me less than an hour in NH. That's what no state tax, extremely limited corruption, no sales tax, small state government, and no mandatory insurance does for the improvement of life in general. I've come to appreciate NH for its vast superiority over all of the other northeastern and middle eastern states. In this state, it seems intelligence rules. Speed limit was always 65 (although a more intelligent limit would be 85 or 95 on some of the less traveled roads, but just compare that to New Jersey, the sludge state), never a helmet law, state income tax, state sales tax, nor any other stupid government rip-off scheme designed to squeeze the last cent out of an individual for the personal gain of some limousine liberals. None of the attitude of 'we're the government, so we know what's better for you than you do.' I can only hope it stays that way. Being a little pessimistic in that area, I think its just a matter of time before some holier-than-thou, no-brain-cell or just-plain-greedy politician changes all that.